Let Love In
by ILoveTheCubs
Summary: Fate interferes in the lives of GeorgieLogan
1. Chapter 1

Let Love In

Georgie let out a sigh tinged with tiredness, frustration, loneliness and something she couldn't quite name. She watched as her ex-husband and the woman he'd cheated on her with left the restaurant laughing and talking about plans for a classic movie night. She began to wipe the counter down the more force wondering just how many time she and Dillon had left this same diner making those same plans. No matter how many times she swore that she was over him, it didn't change the hurt that accompanied watching him move on with someone else, while she was alone.

She walked around the counter, flipped the sign to closed, and began flipping the chairs onto the table tops. When she was finished she moved to the kitchen to finish cleaning up in there and doing the dishes. She was so consumed with her thoughts of Dillon and Lulu and her own emptiness she was oblivious to the sound of the door to restaurant opening. She turned and started back to the dining room at the sound of footsteps approaching the counter. "We're closed."

"Money now!" The masked intruder barked motioning with his gun to the cash register. Georgie froze at the sight of the masked gunmen. All that she could focus on was the gun that he was waving around. "Now." The man demanded.

"Ok." Georgie whispered quietly trying to make her feet move the rest of the way to the register. All the while her mind was frantically searching for a way out of this, trying to decide what Mac would do in this situation, or her Mom, or even Maxie. She fumbled nervously with the cash register trying desperately to open it and then to place the money in a bag. "I'm trying." She whispered, sensing his impatience, and trying not to cry at the same time.

"Try harder." He barely got the words out before force sent him smashing against the counter.

Georgie let out a scream of surprise and instinctively jumped back. She recognized the other man as Logan Hayes, a friend of Cooper Barrett, her sister's latest boyfriend. She instantly felt relieve spread through, just at knowing that she wasn't alone to deal with this anymore. She ran into the kitchen and placed a call to 911, and then rushed back into the dining room. Logan had the man in a deadly looking choke hold. "Logan!" She called out to him. He clearly had the situation under control, but showed no sign of backing off. "Logan, you're going to kill him." Fear and apprehension were quickly replacing any momentary relief she had felt. "Logan stop!" Fear tinged her voice. She cautiously reached out and touched his shoulder, and only then did the haze covering him seem to lift.

He delivered a blow that knocked the man out cold, and looked briefly at Georgie registering the fear that he not the armed robber had put there, and averted his eyes. He took a couple of steps away from her and raked his hand through his hair, trying to rein in his temper and regain some control of himself. "Are you ok?" He asked roughly, finally turning back to her. "Did he hurt you?"

"What the hell was that?" She asked fear making her emotions raw. She had never seen anyone in a trance like that.

"Instinct." Logan answered her steadily almost coldly and without any hesitation.

"Instinct makes you almost kill someone?" She asked incredulously, running her hands over her hair.

"Instinct has saved my life a butt load of times, and just saved yours tonight." He responded hotly. "You could show me a little gratitude."

"Thank you."

Before he even had a chance to react or respond he found his arms full with a crying mess of girl. It was instinct that made him bring his arms up around her and hold her close. It was instinct that made him murmur words of comfort he didn't know he was capable of. "Georgie." He needed to get her out of his arms.

"I was so scared, and I didn't know what to do." She held onto him tighter and buried her face in his shoulder.

"You did good. Its ok, you're safe now." He promised, never taking his eyes off the man on the floor a few feet away. He would have killed him if she hadn't been here, if she hadn't put her hand on his arm and broken the red haze that had settled over him.

Finally the wail of sirens could be hear approaching, and a minute later he was able to transfer Georgie into the waiting arms of her father, and walk out amidst the chaos that had engulfed the small diner.

The next few weeks passed and Logan managed to not see Georgie. Most of the time he could even make himself forget about the way she'd felt in his arms; forget the softness of her skin, the silkiness of her hair, the feel of her breath against his neck, and the faint floral smell that clung to her. He'd stepped up his attempt to seduce Lulu, but something had changed, and his heart just wasn't in it the way it had been before. The knock on the door to his rented room above Jakes' bar startled him. No one except Cooper knew he was staying here, and he knew his friend was otherwise occupied tonight. He took a pull from the bottle of beer he held and sauntered to the door. "How the hell did you know where to find me?" he asked shock evident in his voice and on his face as he looked at the woman standing in front of him.

She just smiled. "My father is the police commissioner." She reminded him. The fact that he wasn't wearing a shirt wasn't lost on her, and she was sure her face was flushing. "Can I come in?" She asked, even as she said it was she was wondering about how smart a move it was.

He stepped back and let her in. "How did you get in here?" He asked shaking his head in an attempt to clear it. "This is a bar." And he knew she was underage, not that rules or details like that really mattered to him.

"I just came in." She shrugged simply. "And I might have bribed Coleman with some of these." She handed the container she'd brought with her to Logan. "These are for you, my way of saying thank you for what you did for me a couple of weeks ago."

He opened the lid and took a peek. "You bribed Coleman with my cookies?" He asked teasingly, as he looked up at her, and took a real look at her. She might have given Coleman cookies but that wasn't what got her into the bar. She had a beautiful face, and a body that was curvy in all the right places. The girl was gorgeous, and she didn't even know it. Which made her even more sexy in his opinion. He had to shake his head again. "It wasn't you." He said finally. "There was trouble, it was just…"

"Instinct." She finished for him smiling. "Yeah, I know, you told me. But I still owe you."

"Whatever." He said putting the container on a small rickety card table that served as counter space and dinner table for him.

She frowned. He was shutting down right in front of her, and she wasn't sure why. "Guarded much?" She asked and instantly regretted it. What was she doing? She wanted to deliver the cookies and leave. She'd given him the cookies, why was she still here. She didn't care if he was guarded tight as Buckingham Palace, it was his business, and she wanted no part of it. "Sorry, out of line." She apologized, and started for the door. It was best to get out of here, before she made a bigger idiot out of herself.

He grabbed her arm, turned her towards him, and kissed her like she hadn't been kissed in her entire life. Not even by Dillon. He let go of her arm, and brought his hands to her face to deepen the kiss. She kissed him back, before sanity pushed its way into her head and she pushed him away. "What is wrong with you?" She asked him, her chest heaving as she tried to catch her breath.

"Guarded much?" He threw the words back at her.

She took a deep breath and met his gaze head on, refusing to be intimidated. "I've been married, cheated on, and divorced all before my 19th birthday. And my ex-husband is currently dating the girl he cheated with, which I know you know since you've spent so much time trying to seduce Lulu yourself."

"Jealous?" He asked tauntingly.

"Go to hell Logan. I came here to thank you for saving my life. I've done that. Have a good life." She threw open the door to his room and stomped down the stairs wondering how on earth the whole encounter had managed to do such a 180. But wanting to know even more how he'd managed to get to her like this. She most certainly did not need a man like Logan Hayes in her life in any context.

The next time she saw Logan Hayes, he was hiding behind a park bench, sweat covering his face, and his darting rapidly back and forth as if he was trying to see everything at once. "Logan?" She asked cautiously and concerned.

"Get down!" He yelled, grabbing her hand and pulling her down on the ground next to him. "Stay down damn it! Do you want to get yourself your killed?"

He kept a firm grip on her arm. And she looked around the park, trying to see what he saw. Trying to figure out what was going on. "Logan! Logan, there's, there's nothing." There was no danger here, but he couldn't hear her.

"Damn it, they're everywhere." He muttered.

Again she looked around. The only thing that was everywhere were the little kids running around playing. There was a youth soccer game on a nearby field, and the ref seemed to blow his shrill whistle to signal an infraction every other play. She turned back to Logan, and freed her arm from his grasp. She took his face in her hands. "Logan, hey." She said gently but firmly. "We're in Port Charles, not Iraq." She said softly.

She watched his face carefully, and slowly he began to drift back into reality. He did nothing but stare at her for a minute, and she let her hands drop away from his face. "Jesus." He said warily, and ran his hands over his face.

"Are you ok?" She asked quietly, putting her hand on his knee in an attempt to comfort.

"I..uh…" He stopped unsure how to continue; how to explain what she had just scene. He'd never wanted anyone to see him like that, least of all her, but he didn't see any judgment or condemnation in her eyes, only gentle concern. And it was almost his undoing for the second time.

"Its ok." She told him, shaking her head in understanding. "Do you want me to call Cooper?" She asked, knowing they'd been in Iraq together.

She took her hand from his knee and started to reach in her purse for her phone. He grabbed it and put it back on his leg, but didn't let go, just let his hand cover hers. "No, I'm ok now."

She didn't think that was true, but wasn't going to argue with him either. "Do you want to go somewhere? The docks maybe? Its quieter there."

"I'm fine." He said standing up, and pulling her up with him. "I don't need a babysitter, Georgie."

"I don't know why I even bother." She muttered shaking her head as she started to walk away.

"Georgie, wait." He took a couple of long strides and fell into step beside her.

"What?" She wanted to know, stopping and turning to face him.

He looked at her and for a second struggled to form a coherent thought, let alone say anything. "Thank you." He finally said. Then a wolfish grin crossed his face. "Maybe I'll even bring you some cookies to show my appreciation."

She bit back a smile and shook her head. She knew he was playing with her. "You're not going to rob a Girl Scout to get them, are you?"

"Who me?" He asked putting a hand over his heart and faking indignation. "Do I honestly look like the kind of guy who would do such a thing."

"Absolutely." She shot back.

"I wouldn't have to rob her." He leaned in close to Georgie until she could feel his breath against her ear. "I'd just charm her into giving them to me." He whispered and walked away.


	2. Highway to Hell

-1Highway to Hell

He watched her from his table in the corner as she moved busily throughout the small diner taking orders, chatting happily with customers, busing tables, refilling coffee. Watching her was driving him crazy. He wanted to touch her, it had been too long since he'd touched her. "I can't work with you looking at me like that." Her hissed whisper broke into his thoughts.

"And how am I looking at you?" He crossed his arms and looked up at her.

He was trying to fluster her, and she knew it, but that didn't make his efforts any less successful. "Like you're…." She cut off, she could feel her face flushing.

"Like I'm picturing you naked and in my bed." He said bluntly, with no hint of shame or embarrassment.

She crossed her arms over her chest and rolled her eyes at him. "You're such a gentleman, really." He didn't say anything, just kept staring at her. "What do you want Logan?" She tried to make her tone sound mad, annoyed, anything but unnerved. Four months together, and he could still unnerve her with just a heated look.

"You naked and in my bed." He drawled quietly giving her a lazy smile.

"Ok." She said shaking her head, and then gave a quick look to make sure no one was paying attention to them. "I'll bring you coffee, black, even though I know you like the fancy stuff at Sonnybucks better." She said as she turned and made her way back to the counter.

"What was that about?" Maxie asked her sister, when she came behind the counter to pour Logan's counter. "You were over there a long time."

"It was nothing." She said wiping her hands on her apron. "You know Logan, he likes to flirt with every girl who walks by him."

"Your face is flushed." Maxie observed causally taking a sip of her own coffee.

"Its warm in here." Georgie replied picking up the cup of recently poured coffee.

Maxie studied her sister carefully, Georgie was a terrible liar, always had been. "Stay away from him Georgie. You're a smart girl, you know that he is bad news. Give me the coffee." She took the cup from Georgie and marched over to Logan's table. "Stay away from my sister." She threatened him.

"Georgie's a big girl." Logan replied, unfazed by her threat.

"Don't look at her, don't talk to her, just leave her alone." She reiterated, setting the coffee down with a jolt causing some of it to spill over the side. "She is the best person I know. She's sweet, and genuinely nice. She deserves a hell of a lot better than a wannabe mobster loser like you who would sleep with anything in a skirt."

"Oh, why don't you just lead Cooper back upstairs to your little love shack." He shot back, and then took a sip of his coffee.

"I mean it Logan, stay away from her." She told him hotly and returned to her seat next to Coop.

"That wasn't necessary Maxie." Georgie told her when she returned.

"I'm your older sister, its my job to look out for you."

"Look Georgie." Cooper said interrupting the sisters. "Logan is my friend, but Maxie's right, he's bad news. You're a sweet girl, and he'd take advantage of that."

"Thanks for the advice. I need to get back to work." She grabbed the grey rubber tub from under the counter, and went outside to bus the tables out there.

A few seconds later, Logan threw some money on the table, and left. "If she wasn't your sister…" He said as he approached Georgie.

"But she is." She gave him a small smile. "Your good buddy Cooper told me your bad news. Said I'm a sweet girl, and that you're going to take advantage of me."

"I am bad news. And you are a sweet girl." He made sure no one was around and they couldn't be seen from the window and then brushed the strands of hair that had fallen from her ponytail behind her ear, letting his fingers trail over her cheek.

"You going to take advantage of me?" She asked her eyes dancing with mischief.

He just let out a bark of laughter. Cooper, Maxie, and everyone else, seriously underestimated this girl. Hell, he'd made the mistake of underestimating her too, but that had quickly been remedied. "When can I see you?" He asked his voice suddenly urgent.

"You're looking at me." She put some glasses in the tub.

"You know what I mean."

"Tonight soon enough?" It had been too long since they were truly alone together. It had been a busy week. She'd been busy with work, volunteering, and family. He'd been busy doing whatever it was he did for Sonny.

"No, but it'll have to do." He took her face in his hands and gave her a quick hard kiss before he left.

She turned to go back into Kelly's and found herself face to face with a shocked Dillon and Lulu.

She barely had the door closed to his rented room above Jake's before he had her backed against it. He kissed her until rational thought fled her head and she almost needed help remembering her own name. "Hi." She finally whispered after he'd broken away so they could both recover at least long to catch their breaths.

"Hi." He murmured before he kissed her again, pressing his body more firmly against hers. His mouth left hers and he trailed kisses down her neck.

"We need to talk." She knocked his hand away before it could sneak up her shirt. "Dillon and Lulu saw us today."

"Uh-huh." He grunted, still concentrating on leaving heated kisses on her neck and jaw.

"No really."

"I don't care." He murmured and recaptured her lips with his. "Let them tell the whole damn world. Then I can kiss you like this anytime I want, anywhere I want."

She put her hands on either side of his face. "You kiss me like this in public and my father's going to arrest you for indecent exposure or lewd acts in public."

"It'll be worth it." He promised.

She laughed and wrapped her arms around his waist and started pushing him backwards towards the bed. "What am I going to do with you?" She asked laughing.

"Hopefully something indecent and lewd." He said as they fell back onto the bed.

"Dillon and Lulu aren't going to tell anyone." He tried to reassure her later that night. She was lying curled up against his side.

"How do you know?" She questioned.

"They don't get anything from it." He said simply. "If anyone's going to tell its going to be Maxie."

Georgie frowned. Her sister could do some mean spiteful things, but she didn't think this would be one of them. Both girls had dealt with Mac's over protective streak, and she didn't think her sister would deliberately set him in her direction. "Maxie doesn't know, she just suspects. And what does she gain from telling Mac?"

"Maxie knows." He corrected. "And she gets Mac off her and Cooper's case." He knew that no matter what or how many bad things Maxie did, Georgie would never believe the worst about her sister. No matter how many bad things he did, Georgie wouldn't give up on him.

She was quiet for a minute. She didn't believe that Maxie would go to Mac, but with people starting to know, sooner or later Mac was going to find out. "We need to tell Mac the truth." She said quietly, trying to block images of Mac's reaction from her head.

It wasn't something that he was looking forward to. "How bad do you think it'll be on a scale of 1-10?"

"There isn't a scale capable of measuring." She told him, as she sat up in the bed, and started reaching for her clothes. "Maybe we could tell him at dinner, this weekend, although that does bring back horrible memories of when I was a child and my cousin Robin brought Jason Morgan to dinner."

"Couldn't have been that bad, Mac and Jason are both still alive to tell the story." He commented as he tried to pull her back into the bed. "Georgie, its going to be fine." He said quietly.

She quickly finished getting dressed and sat on the edge of the bed. "Mac does not handle these situations well, despite all the practice that he has had. We've put him through hell in guy department. He yells, a lot, and he's impossible to reason with. He thinks that we're all determined to throw our lives away when it comes to the men we date, no offense."

"Come on Georgie, I'm the first to admit that I don't deserve you, and that you could do a hell of a lot better than me." It was going to always be a mystery to him what she saw in him that made her take a chance.

"Don't say that." She said softly. She stood up. "I need to get home. I'm volunteering at GH in the afternoon, and working at Kelly's in the evening. I'm not sure I'll have time to come over."

"I'll call you later." He promised, and leaned over to kiss her quickly. "Try not to worry."

"What are you doing here? You hate this place." She commented as he approached the nurses desk where she was writing on a clipboard.

"I wanted to see you today. Can you take a break?"

She looked at her watch. "Sure."

She came around the desk, and he grabbed her hand and let her to a dark corner away from view and kissed her. "Is there somewhere more private here?"

"No." She said adamantly. "I'm not having sex with you in the hospital." She whispered. "There are sick people here, this is a place of healing." But he was already pulling her down the hall in search of a supply closet. "Logan." She hissed.

"Relax." He told her as he opened the door to the supply closet and started to back her into it. He came up short, when he looked up. "Busy supply closet." He commented and started to pull Georgie back out.

"What?" She turned to see her cousin hastily re-buttoning her shirt, and adjusting her lab coat. Her eyes widened with shock when it registered who was standing next to her cousin. "Mac is going to go to an early grave."

"Georgie!" Robin kept looking between her cousin and Logan in disbelief. "What are you doing?" If it had been Maxie sneaking into a supply closet with a boy, it wouldn't have been so surprising.

"Me?" Georgie asked incredulously. "You're in the closet with Jason."

"I'm a grown woman." Robin said in her own defense.

"Hey, I've been married already." Georgie reminded her.

"Point taken, but Georgie…" Robin trailed off, again looking between Georgie and Logan.

"I love you, Robin, but you don't have any right to judge me, or my choice in men."

"I'm just worried about you."

"I'm fine." Georgie promised her, and pushed Logan out of the supply closet.

"What did you tell Mac?" Logan asked her as they stood on the porch to the Scorpio house.

"That I was bringing a boy home for dinner." She said simply, as she took his hand in hers.

"And?" He pressed.

"And to remember that he loves me, and wants me to be happy, before he starts ranting. And I told him that I was very happy." She said quietly and pressed a quick kiss to his lips before leading him into the house. "Mac!" She called as they entered the foyer.

"Coming!" He called back, and pulled up short when he saw who was standing in his house, holding his daughters hand. "I'm having flashbacks to 1998." He muttered.

"Mac, remember your promise." She pleaded with him.

"You didn't tell me you would be bringing Sonny and Jason's newest lackey to my house for dinner, when I made that promise." His voice was already starting to rise. "I don't understand the women in this family." He said shaking his head. "I really don't. Duke, Luke, Stone, Jason, Zander, Kyle, Dillon, and now him." He shook his head again. "Dillon Quartermaine is starting to look like a saint, I should have been nicer to him." Mac muttered.

"Dillon Quartermaine cheated on her." Logan spoke up for the first time. His jaw was set, and he was trying to keep his tone level.

"Being with Dillon was never going to get her killed."

"Just heartbroken." Logan shot back.

"Please." She was pleading with both of them now.

"Georgie, what are you thinking?" Mac asked her incredulously. "I expected more of you." Georgie wasn't the one he was supposed to have to worry about. She was the rational one, the practical one. The one who never really gave him any trouble.

"More of her?" Logan's tone was just as incredulous. "Look at her. She's smart and beautiful, the best person that I have ever known. She goes to college, and gets straight A's, she volunteers her free time, she holds down two jobs…"

"You don't need to remind me of my daughter's accomplishments."

"Maybe, I do."

"Logan." She said quietly, squeezing his hand.

"Georgie." Mac said quietly. "Think about your future. He is a criminal. Are you going to stand by him, and come down to visit him every time he's in lockup? I have watched Robin go down this road, and I don't want to do it with you too. I love you, and I want so much more than that for you." All that he ever wanted for any of his girls was for them to be safe and happy. He wanted the best for them.

"I'm happy, Mac. He makes me happy." Her voice was quiet but forceful. "I love him." She admitted quietly.

"Mac." Robin's voice broke up the tension. "Jason and I need to talk to you." She entered the room, Jason right behind. "Not a good time." She said looking at the faces around the room.

"You've got to be kidding me. I need a drink." He told them and started to walk away.

The foursome stood silent for a moment, before Robin sighed. "I'll go talk to him, I've got more practice, and I've tortured him the most." She let go of Jason's hand and went off in the direction her uncle had disappeared.

"Mac." She entered his study.

He was sitting behind his desk, looking worn out and shell-shocked. "I never thought I wanted to be a father. And then you entered my life, and I couldn't love you more if you were my own child."

"I love you too, Mac. You've been the one constant in my life, the one person that I've always known I could count on." She reached across the desk for his hand.

"And then Maxie and Georgie came into my life, and I love them the same way. You're my girls, and all that I have ever wanted is for the three of you to be safe and happy and loved. And sometimes…sometimes I think you needed more than me."

"Mac." She shook her head in disagreement. "You've taken all of us into your life and your heart, and you've loved us without any questions or reservations. We know without any doubt that you love us and would do anything for us. We couldn't ask for anything more than that."

"You have decided to build your life with a hit man, Robin, I know that's what you and Jason came here to tell me. Georgie thinks she's in love with a hit man in training. And Maxie. Maxie has taken drugs, lost her virginity on the internet, slept with a married man, and faked a pregnancy and a miscarriage. At least Coop seems to be a good influence on her."

"Mac, just because we've struggled, doesn't mean that you haven't been a great father to us. Life can be hard sometimes, and nobody is perfect. And we might have unconventional taste in men, but you can't help who you love. We're happy, and we're loved, and that's because we had you." She stood up and went around the desk to hug him.

"He's not good enough for her. And Jason has never been good enough for you."

"Maaaaaac." She said exasperated. "She's happy, he makes her happy. Accept it, because the more you push and voice your unhappiness, the further away she's going to end up. And I'm happy too." She took his hand and tugged him to his feet. "Now go out there, and try to be civil." She gave him a little push towards the door.

He re-entered the room, and looked warily at Logan and Jason. "Who wants lasagna?" He asked throwing up his hands in resignation.


	3. We Belong

-1We Belong

She could sense his thrashing before she fully came awake, and could hear his muffled cries before she completely realized what was going on. She moved closer to him in the bed and wrapped an arm around him holding him close. "Logan." She said quietly, pressing a gentle kiss to his shoulder. "Hey." He didn't come out of whatever nightmare was haunting him tonight. She could see the torture that the nightmare was causing him etched on his face, a face covered with a thin sheen of sweat. "Logan." She said again, louder this time, giving him a small shake.

He struggled through the haze of unconsciousness. When he finally opened his eyes they were clouded with sleep and pain. He met her concerned brown eyes and held her gaze for a minute before closing his eyes again, not wanting her to see what was lurking there. "Just a nightmare." He said quietly. "I'm fine." Hoping that would be enough for her, that she would just accept it and not press.

"Please." She scoffed, not believing him for a second. She had woken him from what she had to assume was the same nightmare too many times. "If you thrashed any harder the bed was going to start shaking."

He opened his eyes, a mischievous glint suddenly gleaming in them. "We can make the bed shake in other ways." He pulled her closer and covered her mouth with his, letting himself get lost in her kiss and the comfort only she'd ever been able to give him.

"Logan." She pushed him back a little so that she could look at him.

"Georgie." He averted his gaze away from her serious and concerned one.

"We have to talk about it sooner or later." She told him simply, hoping that he'd confide in her, let her in, so that she could take some of the burden from him, help him find some peace.

"Later." He told her as he moved on top of her and started kissing her again. He held her face gently and kissed her deeply. He kissed her mouth, her face, her neck, while lettings his hands roam over her. He couldn't get enough of her, of the way her skin felt like satin against his, the way her felt like silk as it slid through his fingers. It scared him that she could reach him in ways no one else could that she could soothe him with a touch, a look, a kiss, a few words. He hadn't done a good thing in his life and the woman in his arms was the epitome of everything good. He closed his eyes and tried to push everything from his mind, and just lose himself in her.

"What'd you dream about, Logan?" She asked him quietly. She was lying with her head on his chest, wrapped safely in his arms.

He looked down at her and sighed. "You are the most persistent stubborn woman I've ever met."

She gave him a small smile. "Exactly, so you better just tell me." He gave her a quick kiss, and let his hand begin to trail softly up and down her back. She sighed. "You're not going to distract me again."

He kissed her again more deeply, "Oh, I bet I could."

"Logan."

He sighed and closed his eyes, the images from before coming back to him at their own volition. "It was about the war." He said without elaborating.

She had figured as much on her own, but had still wanted to hear it from him. "I'm sorry. I can't imagine what that must have been like for you." She said quietly.

"Good, I don't want you to." He never wanted her to have the images of bloody broken bodies in her head. He didn't want her to hear the sounds of rapid gunfire, and explosions, and the screams of boys forced to become men too fast in her dreams.

She ignored the harshness of his tone. She knew where it was coming from. "You know." She told him. "I'm tougher than I look. I survived being born under a table at Luke's Club, various members of my family are at any time mixed up in something crazy and dangerous, I was kidnapped by Luis Alcazar, trapped in a hotel fire, and I survived having Tracy Quartermaine as a mother-in-law."

He smiled at the last thing in her list, and he knew that had been her intention. "I'm trying to protect you, I'm being chivalrous."

She let out a quick burst of laughter. "You don't have a chivalrous bone in your body."

"Hey now." He said pretending to be hurt. "Didn't I go out and buy new sheets for this bed so that you would sleep her, because you said G-d only knew when the last time Coleman washed the perfectly fine sheets that came with the room was."

"My hero." She told him grinning as she quickly kissed him.

"I try." He said seriously, the realities of the kind of man he was and the kind of woman she was, re-entering his thoughts. He didn't deserve her. His biggest fear was that his darkness would undoubtedly taint her. It was the one thing he didn't know how to protect her from.

"You succeed." She promised him, sensing the direction of his thoughts. "We fit Logan, it doesn't have to make sense."


	4. It Only Hurts When I'm Breathing

-1It Only Hurts When I'm Breathing

"Georgie" Mike Corbin exclaimed happily as she entered Kelly's restaurant. "You're a sight for sore eyes." He came around the counter and wrapped her in a hug. "What can I get you?" He asked as he went back around the counter.

"Just a soda." She told him smiling. She looked around the small diner. "Nothing's changed." It was comforting to know that Kelly's like so many other things in her hometown had remained the same despite her time away. "How are you?" She wanted to know.

"I'm doing well. I'm so proud of you. Mac can't stop bragging about you and all that you've accomplished." He told her.

She blushed and smiled. "He's biased. For example, did you know that baby Ava is the smartest most beautiful gifted baby ever born anywhere in the entire world?"

He placed the soda in front of her, and cut her a slice of pie even though she hadn't asked for it. "Well, I must admit he's pretty accurate. Jason and Robin did good."

The bell above the door jingled and Georgie turned to look, her breath immediately caught and her heart slammed against her chest. Logan had walked in talking and laughing with Lulu. She sucked in a breath and turned back to Mike, "do you think I can have my pie to go?" She knew she was being a coward and that she should stay, eat her pie, and catch up with Mike, but seeing Logan was felt like ripping open a wound, and seeing him with Lulu made it worse.

"Sure thing sweetheart." He looked between her and Logan, who hadn't moved since he'd spotted her, and quickly wrapped the pie.

"Thanks." She took the package from him and gathered up her purse. She forced herself to stop in front of Logan. "Hi." She gave him a thin smile.

"Hi." From the moment he'd spotted her at the counter talking with Mike, everything and everyone else had fallen away. "I didn't know you were in town."

She shifted uncomfortably, when had talking to him become awkward? "I'm here for the christening of my cousin Robin's baby."

He should have known that she'd be in town for this. Her family was always important to her, she'd want to be here for this. "Right."

She impatiently brushed a few wayward strands of hair off of her face. "I should go." But she didn't make any move to leave, she couldn't force herself to walk around him. "I should let you and Lulu get back to whatever it is that you were going to do. I'm glad that you're happy." She wanted him to happy, but she wasn't sure it was something she could watch. She quickly made her escape, without giving him a chance to respond. When she was safely in her car, she let the first tears fall.

"You saw Logan." Maxie said matter-of-factly when Georgie entered the kitchen. "He was with Lulu?" She ventured a guess.

Georgie sighed, she knew her sister meant well, but she wasn't sure she had the energy for this. "Look, I know that you hate both of them…"

"Of course I do, they both hurt you." She went to the freezer and pulled out a pint of chocolate ice cream, and grabbed two spoons, then returned to sit at the table by Georgie. "There's nothing better than plain chocolate to cure what ails you."

"Thanks." She gave Maxie a small smile, and took the spoon her sister was holding out to her. "I knew seeing him again would hurt." Georgie said after a bite of ice cream. "I just didn't think it would hurt this much."

"Do you mean to tell me that you've been living in a great fun city like Chicago for almost two years and you really haven't found a guy who could make you forget about Logan Hayes?" Georgie, didn't answer her, just took another bite of ice cream. "Please tell me you've at least been on a date."

"There've been a few guys. I was even semi-serious about one, but I couldn't make it more than that. It wasn't right. None of the relationships that I've had since have been able to compare to what I had with Logan, and I can't settle." She said shrugging. She had been lucky and blessed enough to have been loved twice. First by Dillon and then by Logan. She wasn't sure you got a third chance at something that special and powerful.

Maxie just shook her head. She had never really understood the connection and relationship between her sister and Logan. She thought that Georgie could do so much better than Logan. "He was never good enough for you Georgie."

The sound of the front door slamming startled both girls. "Damn it!" Maxie said jumping up off the chair. "He never did know how to knock." She almost ran into him when he entered the kitchen. "Get out!" She said firmly, pointing in the direction he had come.

"I didn't come here to see you." He said crossing his arms over his chest, and leaning against the door jam.

"Well you're not going to see my sister, I'm not giving you a chance to do anymore damage to her than you already have." She had never backed down to him before, and she wasn't going to now.

"Maxie, its fine." Georgie said standing up, trying to diffuse the situation.

"No, its not. Cooper!" She called out loudly for her fiancé. "Cooper!" She turned her attention back to Logan. "Leave my sister alone or I swear to G-d I'm going to have Cooper shoot you."

"What?" Cooper asked, coming up short in the crowded kitchen. He took in the situation and let out a wary sigh. "Logan, why are you doing this?" He had always respected Logan's relationship with Georgie, and he'd understood how deep their bond ran despite the fact that at first glance they were total opposites. But he also knew that a bond that deep could cause some serious pain, he'd seen them both go through it.

"Because I have to." He said quietly as he met Cooper's steady gaze.

Coop turned to Georgie. "Georgie?"

She sighed. "Its fine.

"No way!" Maxie said indignantly, putting her hands on her hips.

"Come on Maxie." Coop put his hands on her shoulders and started guiding her out of the kitchen. He turned back to Logan. "If you hurt her again, I have a feeling I'm going to have to shoot you despite the fact that you are my best friend."

"We'll be fine." Georgie reassured her soon to be brother-in-law.

"You've been crying." It was a simple observation. Her eyes were still tinged red, and her cheeks still slightly puffy. It was subtle, anyone else might overlook it.

She knew that it would be pointless to deny it. "I'm fine. What did you want to talk about?"

"I…" All that he had known was that he wanted to see her. "How are you?"

"I'm ok, you?"

"I miss you, you look beautiful." He wanted to touch her, to hold her, to go back and make everything right between them.

She took a deep breath and turned away from him. She went and put the ice cream away, and the spoons in the sink. "Please, don't do this." She said quietly, her back still to him. "You can't come here, and look at me like you're looking at me, and tell me that I'm beautiful and that you miss me, its not fair. She finally turned back to him, struggling not to cry.

"Georgie." He took a step closer to her, but stopped when she moved backwards.

"Why are you here?" She questioned him, her voice beginning to rise. "You ended things, you moved on."

"You were shot because of me, Georgie." He was yelling now too. "I thought that you were going to bleed to death in my arms."

She closed her eyes, that day and those that followed it, still fresh in her mind. "You didn't shoot me Logan." She said quietly.

"That doesn't matter." He said tightly. "All that I've ever tried to do is put you first Georgie, no matter what it cost me."

"All that I ever wanted from you was for you to love me and be with me. I understood what I was getting into when we got together. I knew that there was a risk, and I decided for myself that it was one I was willing to take."

"I wasn't willing to risk you." He said quietly.

"Well, obviously, your life is much less risky now." Bitterness and hurt seeped into her voice.

"Lulu isn't you Georgie." Nobody else would ever be to him what she was.

"She's worth the risk." Georgie said quietly. It hurt knowing that she couldn't be to him what Lulu apparently was.

"Losing Lulu wouldn't kill me. If you had died that night Georgie there would have been nothing left for me." Loving her that much scared the hell out of him. He'd gone through life never needing anything they way he needed her. Learning to live without her had been the hardest thing he'd ever had to do.

She didn't know what to say to him, how to respond. So instead she crossed the distance between them put her arms around his neck and kissed him. Letting go of everything that had built up over the last two years.

It was over for him the second she touched him. He kissed her back hard, wrapped his arms around her, and pulled her against him. He couldn't get enough of her, couldn't stop touching her, kissing her. Having her in his arms again was too much, made him feel too much, want too much. Pulling away from her was the second hardest thing he'd ever had to do. "No matter how much I love you, and I do love you." He touched her hair gently. "Things haven't changed, I still work for Sonny. You would still be in danger because of me."

She shook her head and pushed past him, needing some distance. "I can't believe this."

"This isn't what I want." His voice was rough.

She turned towards him. "Its what you're choosing."

"I am a con man and a thief no matter who my boss is, there are always going to be dangerous people in my life who wouldn't hesitate to use you to hurt me. After you were shot it became painfully clear to me that if I loved you, I'd let you go, let you have a normal life, with someone better than me." He had to avert his eyes, so she wouldn't see what was there.

She closed her eyes. "There is no one better than you for me Logan. Someday you'll see that." She took his face in her hands, kissed him softly, and then left the kitchen, and went up the stairs.


	5. Home

-1Home

Logan Hayes was going home. Whoever would have thought home would be a place he'd never been before. He shifted uncomfortably in the backseat of the cab, and watched as lake Michigan whizzed by in a blue gray blur. He closed his eyes, and stifled a sigh.

_"What are you doing here?" He asked her as he exited Sonny's private office and came into the coffee shop. He wished that she wouldn't come here. The café was a legitimate business, but the other meetings that went on in the office a few feet away…_

_"I wanted a latte." She told him smiling as she stood up and moved into his arms._

_He smiled and held her closer. "You don't like Sonnybucks coffee." He reminded her, using the name she'd taken to calling Sonny's café. _

_"The stuff at Kelly's is just as good and a heck of a lot cheaper." She agreed, and pulled away from enough to give him a quick kiss. "I do like seeing you though, you free?" She asked._

_"What did you have in mind?" He asked, as he picked up the untouched latte from her table and took a drink._

_"Not much. I was thinking you, me, and a bed." She told him quietly._

_"I suddenly have all the free time in the world." _

_"Really?" She wrapped her arms around his neck. "Funny how that works out."_

_"Georgie, I…" Movement behind her caught his attention. Instinct caused him to throw her to the ground and cover her body with his as chaos filled the small café. All around him he could hear people screaming, guns firing, glass breaking. He reached for his own gun to return the fire._

_As quickly as it had started it ended. He looked around at the destruction and then quickly down at Georgie. "Georgie." He touched her face gently. She didn't respond. "Georgie!" he repeated her name, shaking her a little._

_Her eyes fluttered open, everything was hazy, she couldn't focus. "Logan." She whispered._

_"I'm right here, baby." He took her hand in his and squeezed. "Are you ok?"_

_She closed her eyes. "Hurts. My back."_

_He slipped his hand gently underneath her. He felt his stomach roll when his hand became warm with her blood. Almost fainted when he pulled his hand back and saw it covered with her blood. "I need some help over here." He managed to yell._

"Kid, we're here." The cabbie's accented voice shook him from his reverie.

"What?" He asked dazed as he tried to blink away his memories.

"4700 Marine, we're here." He repeated.

"Thanks." He paid his fare, collected his duffel bag, and exited the taxi. He looked up at Georgie's building, and let out a deep sigh, before charming a little old lady into letting him upstairs without having to be buzzed in.

He stood outside her door plagued by doubt for what seemed like an eternity before he finally knocked.

"Hold on!" She called out on the second knock as she made her way to the door. She pulled it open. "Logan." She whispered stunned. It had been six months since she'd been in Port Charles for the Christening.

He closed his eyes. His name had never sounded as good as when it came from her lips. He opened his eyes and met her gaze. "I want to come home." He whispered.

She looked at him confusion marring her face, but she stepped back and let him into the apartment anyway. "I…." She cut off unsure of what to say.

"Home is wherever you are. Here, Port Charles, Alaska. I want to come home." He repeated desperately. He needed her. Needed her to say something, give him some indication. "I love you, Georgie Jones. I love you, and I have tried living without you, and it sucks." He dropped his duffel bag on a chair.

"Why are you here now?" She was still having a hard time believing that he was really standing in front of her.

"Because I can't live without you anymore. And I know that its selfish. I should have held on to you instead of pushing you away, and there are so many times before now that I should have come after you, I should have come back here with you a couple of months ago…" He trailed off. He wanted to take her in his arms, and hold her, and never let her go.

"What happened to you always being a con man and a thief? What happened to their always being people who would hurt me, no matter who you worked for?" She asked cautiously.

He sighed, and took a couple of steps closer to her. "I want to be the kind of man who deserves you."

She wanted to tell him that he'd always deserved her. "What if the lure of your old life is too strong?"

"It won't be, because I know if I go back I could lose you again. And I can't go through that again."

"I can't either." She told him shaking her head, tears finally starting to fall from her brown eyes.

He couldn't take it any longer. He crossed the rest of the distance between them and pulled her into his arms, crushing her up against him. He buried his face in her hair. "I love you." He whispered. "I promise I'm going to spend the rest of my life showing you, and making up for all the wrong things I've done that have hurt you." He pulled away, and cupped her face gently in his hands, so that he could look into her eyes. "Please give me a chance to make us right."

"Since I've met you, all that I have ever wanted is to love you and be loved by you, and for us to be together."

"I know." He agreed. "I felt the same way, and it scared the hell out of me. I need you like I've never needed anything else."

"I need you too. I need you to make me feel alive, and whole, and loved, and safe. For everything." She added in a whisper.

He found her mouth with his, and kissed her, like he was trying to tell her everything he was thinking and feeling with one kiss. His kisses got more and more insistent and intense, and his hands kept trying to bring her closer to him. "I love you." He wasn't sure he could ever tell her that enough.

She pulled back from him slightly. "Logan?"

"What?" He asked in between the kisses he was placing along her jaw line.

She turned her head to capture his lips. "Welcome home." She whispered when the kiss had ended.


End file.
